[Aeolun]

> They no longer showcase the promise of the future or celebrate achievement. Instead, they serve as national branding exercises, infrastructure development projects masquerading as innovation, architecture competitions, and an opportunity to promote tourism

I kind of feel that these were the exact goals of the original world fairs too.

[tomphoolery]

This is true, and the reason for why they are no longer a thing is the same reason why companies don't sponsor theme park rides anymore. They simply don't need to. With the ability to reach more people more quickly with less money over our mass media networks, there's no real reason to sponsor an attraction of any kind.

At any rate, World's Fairs are still happening, just not in the US... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_fair

[_joel]

Definitely, there's no difference. Just look at the 1937 Paris Expo.